The Power of Persistence

This is another topic that has become cliché. There are books, articles, and slogans abundant that promote the virtues of persistence. It’s easy to understand this concept, but it’s difficult to apply in reality. Why is it so difficult to be persistent? Because trying to accomplish goals is often very frustrating. There are challenges along the way—some are expected, some unexpected. It takes great determination to keep pushing forward. The people around us are often no help. Rather than encouraging you to keep going, they suggest you raise the white flag, saying “It will never work”… “Better luck next time” …or “Well, at least you tried.”

Great things are accomplished through great determination. Great determination is a rare thing. We don’t see it very often in others or in ourselves. This is why people tend to give up easily on their goals and dreams, and expect others around them to do the same. It’s true, obviously, that not everything is possible. I doubt anyone will ever successfully build a time-travel machine or a tree that grows neckties. Then again, who ever thought man would be able to fly to the moon or talk long-distance across the globe? Amazing things can happen if we are determined and persistent. If we keep looking, we can find ways to get around the obstacles that impede us. There is a saying that “fortune favors the bold.” It is true that through bold determination and persistence we can often break through and find a way to keep going.

The story of Thomas Edison’s light bulb is a great story of persistence. For decades, scientists knew how to create artificial light with electricity. The problem was that it only lasted a few seconds. It would never be practical to use until someone figured out a way to make the illumination last much longer. Thomas Edison was determined to find the solution to that problem. His experiments led to failure upon failure upon failure. But he kept going. He believed that there was a way, and that he would find it. Eventually he discovered that if a vacuum was created within a glass bulb, the filament could stay lit for long periods of time. This discovery was of massive significance, and gave the world the use of electrical lighting. Again, great accomplishments are the result of great determination and persistence.

There are innumerable stories of success in business that are based on steady, stubborn, and relentless persistence. Some of the people who have become legendary figures were thought to be foolish and irrational by the people around them. But they kept going. A good friend of mine often says, “You need to be like a dog with a sock in its mouth… bite hard and don’t give it up.”

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. (Calvin Coolidge)

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man. (George Bernard Shaw)